SCIENCE

WALTHAM, MA -- StorageNetworks, Inc. (NASDAQ: STOR), the world's leading provider of data storage management services, and Brocade Communications Systems (NASDAQ: BRCD) (Brocade(R)) announced today an expansion of the relationship between the two companies that will provide even more comprehensive SAN technology and services to enterprise customers. StorageNetworks also announced plans to test and certify the next-generation Brocade Core Fabric Switch, the Brocade SilkWorm 12000 for compatibility with StorageNetworks STORos operating system. StorageNetworks currently uses Brocade SAN infrastructure in the delivery of its data storage management services and has tested and certified interoperability of its STORos operating system with the Brocade SilkWorm(R) 2000 family of fabric switches. Enterprise SAN customers will benefit from the combination of Brocade's scalable, reliable networking foundation for storage environments and StorageNetworks' robust multi-vendor storage management software and services. According to Doug Chandler of IDC, "This is a smart alliance for both StorageNetworks and Brocade. Most importantly, customers will benefit from the expertise of these two industry leaders, and their ability to help enterprises efficiently migrate to SANs." "Our teams have worked closely for the past two years to speed the deployment and enhance the manageability of multi-vendor SANs," said Peter Bell, Chairman and CEO of StorageNetworks. "This effort is dramatically improving the management efficiencies and significantly reducing overall costs in large enterprise storage environments." "As the deployments of storage area networks scale larger and as customers internetwork SANs across longer distances using DWDM and optical technologies, the ability to centralize management of the storage environment becomes critical," said Greg Reyes, Brocade Chairman and CEO. "We are pleased to work with StorageNetworks to allow our joint customers to take advantage of the benefits of managed storage services." The STORos operating system is the industry's first storage-specific operating system, integrating and centralizing the distributed and heterogeneous management elements of a storage network. The STORos operating system provides a common structure that unifies storage resources through defined interfaces for information exchange, control, and management. Additionally, it is the underlying operating system that supports StorageNetworks' innovative storage management software - the Virtual Storage Portal software and STORvision command and control software. The Brocade SilkWorm 12000, announced earlier this year, will be available in 64-port and 128-port configurations and expands the capabilities of storage environments with 2 Gigabit per second (Gb/s) Fibre Channel support and is extensible to support both IP and emerging InfiniBand networks. Brocade SilkWorm fabric switches provide the world's leading intelligent networking foundation for Storage Area Networks (SANs). Using Brocade fabric switches, customers can connect servers with storage devices through a SAN, creating a highly reliable and manageable environment for storage applications. For additional information visit www.brocade.com or www.storagenetworks.com